Improved appabatus fob fobming moulds fob pubposes of casting metal



Quint itres strut @tfitr.

- LOWELL, MANCHESTER, NEW lHAMPSHIRE."

Letters Patent Nb. 65.922, dated June 18, 1867...

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FORMING MOULDS FOR PURPOSES 0F CASTING METAL.

TO ALL WHOM I1 MAY co'non'am Be it knownthnt I, ALBION H. LOWELL, of Manchesteuin the county of Hillsboro, and State of ITew Hampshire, have invented a new-Machinefor Making Moulds for Castings, ofwhich the following is a full, 1 clear, andcxact description, reference Being had to the accompanying drawings, making part'of this specificalion, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of my moulding'machiuc.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the rear end of the same. I

Figure 3 is alongitudinal vertical section of the same on the line x x of figel, the flask being place beneath the pattern.

Figure 4 isapcrspcctivc view 'of one-half .ofthc flash with the parts used inc-cnnection therewith.

Figure 5 is a, vertical section through the centre of the same.

The forming of moulds in sand for castings has heretofore hecndone entirely by hand, which operation was slow, tedious, and'laborious. My invention hasfor its object to accomplish this by machinery, and'thus reduce the labor, and consists in a machine in which the flask containing the sundis carried automatically into a position to receive the impression of the pattern, which is forced into the sand-11nd then withdrawn therefrom,

after which the flask is carried'ont of the machine; and my'invention also consists in certain details which will ho'f u lly described hereafter. I i

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out. i p i In the said drawings, A is-the bed of the machine, and B the framework which supports thetalilc C. D D are-two pulleys of large-diameter, whichnrc' secnred to a shaft, a, having its hearing gs in the framewo1=k,'and over these pulleysand two small pulleys E on a. shaft, 6, are stretched the endless chains c, the bearings of the pulleys E being made adjustable in the framework by means of screws cl, so as-to keep the chains stretched tightly as required. The fiask rF which contains the sand rests on a board 0, which is placed onthe table C, and has projecting from its under side too pins-f, which fit into the chains 0, lay-which the flask is carried fdrwurd at the required times beneath the pattern G, which is attached by screws or otherwise to the under side ofa; plate or plunger, H, secured to the lower end of a. bar, I, which is moved up and down inlguidesg in theframc- I work, (to force the pattern into the sand and withdraw it therefrom,) by means of 'a. connecting-rod, h, and a crank, i, on the 'driving-shaft J, which runs in hearings on the top of the framework. The shaftJ carries a gear, j, which drives another-similar gear ll:,on a shaft, K, which runs in hearings Z, and carries at one extremity a crank, m, to which is pivoted a pitman, 'n, the lowcrend of which is-pivoted to a box, a, which is pirotedon the-shaft a, and carries a .pa.wl, p, which engages with a ratchet, g, on the shaft d, and thus through the conncc tions explained the chains c are moved intermittently at thorequired times to carry the flask forward beneath the pattern G, which is then pressed into thc sand to form the mouid.' The flask whichfcontains the sand is made as usual in two halves, the "nowel or bottom halt" F, being shown in thdrawings, and each hal-fis bevelled or rounded on the outside, as-seen'in figs. 3, 4, and'5, for a purpose that will be explained hereafter L is a frnme which is placed over the-flask F, and held in place by pins r, the inside being bevelled-or inclined as seen in fig. 5. Thailand: is then placed-beneath a riddling machincflby'which it is filled with sand to a level with the upper edge of the frame L which is then removed, leaving the sand projecting above thc'uppcr edge of the flask p'd istance equal to the thickness of 4 the frame. The'fiask is then carried as before explained bncath vthe pattern G, .whichis forced into the sand to form the mould, at the same time pressing that'portion of the sand above the upper edge 7 of the flask down into it so as tohold the sand tightly in place as required, no ramming being necessary as in the hand process. By making the outside of ;the flask hevelling or rounded with an edge 7 at the joint, as seen in figs. 3 and '5, no space is left for the sand to rest on when pressed down, which would .be the case if made-flat at the joint as heretofore, for if when the two halves of the flask were tipped over edge wise to unite them together, any sand remained on the edge, it would lie liahleto fall into and injure the mould.

- 0 are guide-plates projecting from the framework, which serveto guide the flask into its proper position beneath the pattern, and prevent it from having any lateral movement; t is a bar, the upper end of which is projected up through a slot in the table 0, to forma gauge or stop against which thciiask strikes when it has arrived exactly beueath the pattern. Another bar it is then brought up through the table immediately in front of the .flaslr, the two, in connection with the guide-plates a, serving to hold it immovably in position whilethe pattern is being forced into thesand to form the mould, afterwhich they are. both withdrawn so as to allow the flask to be carried forward and removed from the machine. I i The mechanisinhyjwhich the bars are advanced and withdrawn at the required times will now be described.

To the lower. ends, of the bars t u are"pivotedthelevers M, which are pivoted to hangers 'v, projecting down from-the under side of the table 0, the opposite ends of the levers M being connected by links to to the levers N, which are permanently secured to rock-shafts O, having-their hearings in 'jthefra-me'work, and these shafts areprovided with cranks a to whichare pivoted the rods 6', the upper ends of which pass through holes in a guide-plate, P, secured to the framework, and are depressedby cams Q, on the shaft K, so as to raise the ends of the bars or stops it a above thesurface of the table 0, as seenin fig..3, As soon as the points 8 of the cams pass oil the ends of the rods 6, the front ends ot the levers N are depressed by means of 'the weights R, instantly withdrawing the bars 1 it below the surface of the. table 0, as seen infig. 2, to allow the flask to be moved forward'in the direction .of the arrow, audits place supplied by another. The sprue hole through which themetal ispou red into the mould is formed by incans of a tubevor punch, a, which passes through an opening inhthe 'ta'bleC, and slides into a guide-tube, S, secured to its under side, the lower end of the punch being connected with alever, T, which ispivoted to the frame, andhas attached to its opposite end a rod, e, the

upper end-of which is secured by means of nuts 9 to an arm, f, projecting from the plate H, and-thus through the. connectionsexplained, as the latter is brought downthe punch is forced up through the sand to form the sprue hole which. connects with the gates or channels for the metal to run through. These gates are formed by thepattern G in awelhknown manner, The height to which the punchc is carried by thedescent of the plate H is regulated by means of the nuts 9 on the red e. It is obvious that the mechanism for operating the bars or stops tu, as well as that for operating the punch for making the sprue hole," may be varied-witn- .out departing from the spirit of my invention.

The machine above described is employed for making one-half of the mould, the other half being formed-in a machine ofsimilar construction, with the exception of the punch or device for making the sprue hole/f which of course requires to be in oneLhalf of the mould only. When the article to be moulded has afiat surface on one; side, the mould is made in the nowel or bottom half of the flask, and a flat plate only is attached to the plunger of .the machine-in which the other half of the flask is placed, which presses the sand down to a level with its upper edge, leaving its surface perfectly flat and smooth, as required. Instead of the flask being carried beneath the pattern and the latter forced down intothe sand, a machine may be constructed in which the flask is brought over the pattern, and the latter forced up into the sand, withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention. The arrangement first described, however, is that which I prefer. In practice the length of the endless chains 0 will be increased so that they may be stretched on each side of a long table forming an extension. of the table 0, the flasks F being successively carried by the chains first under a friddling machine which fills them with sand, and then, at the required time, beneath the pattern which forms the mould, after which they are carried out.

of the machine.

i What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

In combination with the pattern attached to the plunger, as set'forth, I claim the endless chains C, the plates 8, the stops or bars tu, the tube or punch a, and the flask F, as above set forth and described, and for the purpose of making moulds for castings.

ALBION H. LOWELL.

Witnesses:

WM. H. Prensa, Hane Grumman. 

